Now in its fourth year, Photo London is officially all grown up with over 100 galleries set to participate at the fair this May, with Canadian fine art photographer Edward Burtynsky announced as its Master of Photography for 2018. Launched last year, the Discovery section serves as a platform for young galleries and emerging image-makers reshaping the photographic medium. Curated for the second time by art consultant and curator Tristan Lund, the 2018 edition of Discovery will feature 22 galleries, where a strong line-up of local and international galleries will take over an expanded, dedicated space.
Here, in his own words, Tristan Lund shares the seven breakthrough artists to watch out for in the Discovery section at Photo London and why...
Lorena Lohr at Cob Gallery, London
Untitled, 2017, by Lorena Lohr.
I love the inner world that Lorena Lohr creates in her photographs. Clearly referencing the strong American tradition of wandering street photographer, they exude the bitter sweet romance and mystery of the southern states. Part of the charm to her work is its simplicity, making it look really easy to take these kinds of photographs, which it definitely isn’t!
Senta Simond at Webber Represents, London
Untitled, 2017, by Senta Simond, from the series Rayon Vert, inkjet print, Baryta paper, on aluminium, silver aluminium frame.
Senta Simond’s self-published project Rayon Vert was shortlisted for the Aperture First Book Award in 2017 and has now been published by Kominek Books in Berlin. Simond’s work fits perfectly with the aesthetic of Webber – part agency, part gallery – their artists all have a strong personal practice that influences their commissioned work, making it very hard to see where the line is drawn.
Yusuke Yamatani at Yuka Tsuruno Gallery, Tokyo
Tsugi no yoru e #50, 2010, by Yusuke Yamatani, gelatin silver print. © Yusuke Yamatani.
We have been in discussion with Yuka Tsuruno Gallery for two years about participating in Photo London with the work of Yusuke Yamatani. Every project by Yamatani is so different from his next yet each has an energy to it and a sense that he is seeking answers through his art.
Pacifico Silano at Rubber Factory, New York
Mountainscapes, 2018, by Pacifico Silano, archival inkjet print.
Often the most intriguing photographs hint at a story but don’t tell us everything. The works in Pacifio Silano’s After Silence project are subtly suggestive and give away very little, allowing the viewer to use their own imagination to see beyond the frame.
Shen Wei at ON/Gallery, Beijing
I Miss You Already - New York, 2010, by Shen Wei, C-print.
I’m really excited to have our first Chinese gallery in the Discovery section of Photo London. Shen Wei’s portraits are highly stylised to the extent that they could be mistaken for fashion editorial yet feel incredibly intimate and soul searching. His work will be paired with the nudes of Liu Tao.
Marco Maria Zanin at Spazio Nuovo, Rome
Maggese II, 2016, by Marco Maria Zanin, fine art print on cotton paper. © Marco Maria Zanin.
Marco Maria Zanin showed me his work at a portfolio review in Milan last year and it stayed with me, in particular his ferite/feritoie series which hints at Irving Penn’s still lifes. I am delighted that his gallery, Spazio Nuovo, will present a solo stand of his work at Photo London.
Nikolai Ishchuk at Joanna Bryant and Julian Page, London
Threshold (4), 2017, by Nikolai Ishchuk, silver gelatin prints on expired fiber paper, acrylic, ink, mounting tape, polyurethane, aluminium. © Nikolai Ishchuk.
I’ve been following the work of Nikolai Ishchuk for several years and am delighted that Joanna Bryant and Julian Page will present a solo stand of his Thresholds series. These geometric forms are made in the darkroom with no camera or negative, there is a purity to them that is incredibly tactile and seductive.
Related: Why new photography fairs need to think beyond the booth
INFORMATION
Photo London 2018 runs 17-20 May at Somerset House. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Photo London website
ADDRESS
Somerset House
Strand
London WC2R 1LA
-
The Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic is automotive haute couture, a concept with cinematic styleThe Vision Iconic concept makes a play for a new approach to future luxury, blending art-deco excess with neo-gothic trimmings and monumental scale
-
María Berrío creates fantastical worlds from Japanese-paper collages in New YorkNew York-based Colombian artist María Berrío explores a love of folklore and myth in delicate and colourful works on paper
-
A once-abandoned Mayfair schoolhouse is set to become London's ultimate destination for crafted artsGallerist Sarah Myerscough opens a new permanent location, which will serve as a space to celebrate and foster craftsmanship in the city
-
Doc’n Roll Festival returns with a new season of underground music filmsNow in its twelfth year, the grassroots festival continues to platform subcultural stories and independent filmmakers outside the mainstream
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors' picks of the weekThe London office of Wallpaper* had a very important visitor this week. Elsewhere, the team traverse a week at Frieze
-
Chantal Joffe paints the truth of memory and motherhood in a new London showA profound chronicler of the intimacies of the female experience, Chantal Joffe explores the elemental truth of family dynamics for a new exhibition at Victoria Miro
-
Leo Costelloe turns the kitchen into a site of fantasy and uneaseFor Frieze week, Costelloe transforms everyday domesticity into something intimate, surreal and faintly haunted at The Shop at Sadie Coles
-
Can surrealism be erotic? Yes if women can reclaim their power, says a London exhibition‘Unveiled Desires: Fetish & The Erotic in Surrealism, 1924–Today’ at London’s Richard Saltoun gallery examines the role of desire in the avant-garde movement
-
Tiffany & Co’s artist mentorship at Frieze London puts creative exchange centre stageAt Frieze London 2025, Tiffany & Co partners with the fair’s Artist-to-Artist initiative, expanding its reach and reaffirming the value of mentorship within the global art community
-
Em-Dash is a small press redefining the indie zine beyond nostalgiaThe South London publishing studio's new imprint 'Practice Meets Paper' translates a chosen artist’s practice into print. Wallpaper*s senior designer Gabriel Annouka speaks with the founders, Saundra Liemantoro and Aarushi Matiyani, to find out more
-
‘It is about ensuring Africa is no longer on the periphery’: 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in LondonThe 13th edition of 1-54 London will be held at London’s Somerset House from 16-19 October; we meet founder Touria El Glaoui to chart the fair's rising influence
